


Boardwalk Empire

by AudibleEllipsis



Series: Already Found [2]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amethyst is also shaped like a friend, Crime Buds, Dancing, Friendship, Gen, Steven Universe: The Movie Spoilers, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-10-27 15:22:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20762549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AudibleEllipsis/pseuds/AudibleEllipsis
Summary: The night after coming to Earth is running long. But Spinel finds some good company in the form of a shape-shifting gem, and goes on to meet a few more people at the arcade.In the morning, Spinel meets one of Steven's best friends, and finds out a little more about lies and love. Takes place before and during "Love Letters".





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Amethyst cannon-balls into the list of things that are friend-shaped. Slowly but surely, we're filling out that list.

The night ran long. Steven’s blanket was warm, but staying still for too long was definitely off the docket. Spinel folded the blanket, set the bear on top, and put a finger to her chin. The lights inside the big box were dim now, which probably meant something, but what, exactly she had no clue. It was temping to go inside and find out for herself, but when she’d come close enough, she could see Pearl at the window, staring back. The white gem’s gaze was unwavering. Not unblinking, at least, but still weird. Whatever was up with that, Spinel didn’t have the nerve or energy to deal with right now.

“What to do, what to do…”

She had the whole world to herself, didn’t she? A whole wide world. Teeming with life and lights and sounds and smells. And for some reason, Spinel wasn’t sure she wanted to go past the beach itself. Maybe it was as simple as not wanting to be so far away from her new friend. If Steven came out and she wasn’t there to greet him, wouldn’t he be heart-broken? She couldn’t abandon him like that.

So… She looked around.

Combed the shoreline. Found small, funny-looking pink shell things. Round, bumpy white things. Some twigs and the barest specks of shiny green metal. The way the grainy stuff beneath clung when wet gave her an idea.

“I’ll… make something! Yeah!”

Spinel began to gather sand in comically oversized hands, taking chunks from beneath the waves. It had no problem sticking together, forming a huge mound close to the shoreline. She began to stack and form the shape, squeezing it all together and smoothing the piles out until they became a collection of spires. The towers in Homeworld had always been so impressive, even to her. Like each Bismuth had been dared to outdo the last. Taller, taller, more elaborate, more patterns, more shine. Spinel did her best to recreate that, a clockwise series of steadily taller shapes, saving the majority of her baubles for the final tower.

And then, an oversized wave crashed down, turning the towers to stumps.

Spinel frowned.

Maybe it would just be better not to bother.

Curly end of her pony-tail now dragged down with water, Spinel stood, and nearly jumped upon hearing a voice.

“That sucks. Those towers looked pretty cool.”

It was the Amethyst gem. But, Spinel had no idea where it was coming from.

“Yo, over here. No, here. A little to the left. Up a bit.” A purple, floofy, feathery bird sat atop a tall, jutting rock. And at its center was a deeply purple gem. “Sup.”

Spinel tilted her head. “How are you… a bird?” She’d never seen anything like it. Amethyst was small before, but nothing like this. It was a totally different shape, too.

“Whaat?” The bird tilted its head nearly ninety degrees. “I just shape-shifted. You know, like you were doing earlier?”

“Shape-what-now?”

The bird’s eyes narrowed. “No way… You don’t know what shape-shifting is?”

Spinel stretched an arm all the way to the cliff-face from the shore. “Like this?”

“Yeah, like that!” The bird’s head straightened, then cocked out. “You’re pretty good at that.”

She chuckled, other hand rubbing the back of her neck. “Well, gee, it’s nothin special. I was made to do it. But alls I know how to do is stretch and bend. I’ve got no clue how to do what you’re doin’.”

Again, the bird’s eyes narrowed. Amethyst was quiet for a little while, and Spinel began to worry she’d said something wrong. But with a _‘hoo’_, the bird jumped, transforming mid fall and landing in its normal shape. The purple gem leaned against the rock with an easy smile. “You know, Pearl told me to keep an eye on you, but you seem pretty chill to me.”

She glanced back to the blanket. “Am I… supposed to be cold?”

The small gem snorted and laughed. “_No, dude,_ it means, like, you’re cool.” Spinel stared blankly. Amethyst slapped a hand to her forehead. “I mean, you’re relaxed. Like, you’re not gonna go do something crazy any time soon.”

Spinel frowned. “Pearl thinks I’d do something crazy?” Maybe that was all there was to it. Worrying _was_ part of a pearl’s job, after all.

“Yeah, she’s always stressing over something. Just let it roll off you.” Amethyst transformed again, this time into a long-necked bird with smooth, downy feathers. “_Like water off a duck_.”

Silence.

“Ugh, right, you wouldn’t get that either.” Her shape returned, and there was a pause. “Hey, know what? You’ve got a lot of catching up to do. Lemme show you around town.”

Spinel glanced back to the box. “I dunno…”

Amethyst made a dismissive gesture. “Steven’s not gonna be up for a while, it’s cool.”

“Not gonna be up?” She questioned. “Did something knock him down? Does he need help?”

Again, Amethyst snickered. Spinel might’ve taken offense, except that even accidental laughs were a reward. “Noo, dude, he’s just sleeping. It’s like, this thing humans do. They lay down for a while with their eyes closed and dream and stuff. You should try it, actually, it’s pretty good for when you’re stressed.”

“Yeah, that doesn’t sound like something I’d do.” Spinel answered quickly.

Amethyst shrugged. “Your loss.” She gestured again, this time past the beach. “Come on. Steven doesn’t get up ‘til sunrise at the earliest. And, usually he sleeps _way_ past that. You’ve got time.”

One last time, Spinel cast a nervous glance back. Amethyst seemed nice. And… Steven wanted her to see more of Beach City anyways, didn’t he?

“Aw, what the heck, why not?”

“_Yes_!” Amethyst pumped a fist. “You’re gonna _love_ this place, it’s the _best_ at night.”

Really, what was the worst that could happen?

* * *

The whole way over, Amethyst talked about all the stuff she had to show her. The walk wasn’t long, but the purple gem still managed to fit an awful lot of words Spinel had no clue what meant in those few minutes. Mostly, Spinel was just focused on the view as it came. ‘Beach City’ was about the size of Pink’s Garden, maybe a little bigger. A peninsula set against rolling hills, jam-packed with wood and brick buildings just like the one Steven apparently lived in.

“So, there’s a bunch of people like Steven here?” Spinel asked, hopefully not interrupting.

“Oh, uh, I guess? Sorta.” Amethyst buried a hand in her long, lavender hair. “Steven’s a little different, but most of the people here are cool anyways.”

There was still a lot she didn’t understand. But piece by piece, it would all come together. The best jigsaw puzzles always did.

Suddenly Amethyst turned, and shot up her arms. “So?”

Silence.

_Oh no, did she ask me something?_ “Sooo…?”

“So, what do you wanna do here? I’ve been blabbin on for a while, so _something_ must’ve sounded good in there.”

Oh, gee, she really should’ve been listening, huh? “The… one with the games?” Spinel hazarded, fingers tapped together.

“Oh, Funland.” Amethyst grinned, and nodded sagely. “Good choice. The big park’s closed at night-- Not like that’d stop us-- but the arcade’s open ‘til midnight on the weekends, so we can still sorta do that one.”

“Oh, goody!” Spinel took a breath, and wiped her forehead when Amethyst wasn’t looking. She hadn’t bungled anything up yet.

The wood beneath was old and faded, cracks running all over the place. With every thumping step came a small creak, but aside from that and the wind, the night was quiet. Facing the ocean were a long line of buildings with colorful, elaborate signs and awnings, tall umbrellas held at the center of tables, flimsy-looking chairs tucked beneath. Farther down the way was a single building with its lights still on, a neon haze of colors and noise streaming out, jagged, wave-like patterns molded along the headboards above its entryways.

“This,” Amethyst gestured wide. “Is my Boardwalk Empire.”

Spinel blinked. “Really?”

“Nahh, but it sounded cool, right?” The purple gem grinned. She grinned too. “Pretty much every place along here's either got some decent people running it or something to do, so it’s probably where you’ll hang out the most. Honestly, I kinda used to hate the arcade, but that was before I figured out how to have fun with it _my way_.”

Mischief just _oozed_ off Amethyst. It was in her eyes, in her smile, in her voice. Spinel decided right then that she wanted a part of that mischief for herself.

“Oooh, tell me more!” She clapped her hands together. “I love a good game!”

“First, we gotta go undercover.” The purple gem took her hand and lead them a little farther away, through a narrow passage between buildings. Then, to a place with a bunch of humanoid, featureless figures holding poses in some window displays. There was a small glow as one of the purple gem’s fingers became a key, and the swinging glass doors in front clicked open. “The guy who runs Funland isn’t gonna trust you if your gem’s showing. He’s... _kinda_ got it figured out by now that we’re not, like, ‘normal’.” Amethyst threw up air-quotes with her free hand. “Totally not my fault, by the way.”

Spinel stepped in and looked around at all the appearance modifiers. Humans must have held their fashion in high regard.

“So, it’s like we’re playing a game of pretend, just to get to the other games?” She wondered absently, pawing at all the fabrics. “That must be tough for Steven.”

Amethyst was snooping around too, and grinned her way. “Nah, Mr. Smiley’s actually pretty okay with Steven. That’s kind of like, his super-power. Everyone loves Steven.”

“... Must be nice.” Spinel said quietly, picking out a hot-pink leather jacket.

“Here, put this on too.” Amethyst held out a long, black strip of cloth with a silver diamond pattern embroidered at the ends. “‘S for your neck. You wrap it around and let some of it dangled off. Called a ‘scarf’.”

Spinel stood in front of a mirror, zipped up the jacket, and threw on the ‘scarf’. Her eyes met themselves for a moment, and it was enough to make her wonder if her smile just then had been real. But, it had to be, didn’t it? She hadn’t even been thinking about it. 

“_Nice_.” Amethyst was behind, and put a hand on her shoulder. “I like the look...”

Spinel blushed a little. “Well, you gave me the, uh, scarf, so…” All things considered, it was a pretty simple compliment. But after a few thousand years of not hearing any, it was a little embarrassing how touched she felt. 

The purple gem took her pick and slipped on a black, oversized jacket with a hood that had a single pocket in front and a grey, brimless cap that hugged her head. The two left wordlessly, and it wasn’t until the tight alley that Amethyst spoke again.

“Hey, that doesn’t feel weird, right?”

“Whu, the appearance modifiers?”

“The _what_?” Her expression was dumbfounded, but then she made the connection. “Oh, we just call ‘em clothes here. Pearl said she hates having her gem covered, but I’ve never minded it for a little while.”

“Uh… dunno.” Spinel tugged at the jacket, collar flattened. It wasn’t _totally_ covering her gem, just most of it. It felt a bit weird to have something hugging the edges of her light for so long, but the ‘clothes’ were practically weightless, and had textures she liked. “I like ‘em fine enough for now, I guess.”

“Cool, just checkin.” The purple gem didn’t quite meet her eyes, just carried on. “I know what it’s like to feel like you can’t say something, so…”

She didn’t have long to think about the weird sentence her new friend had said, because it was cut off by thoughts about the weird _things_ she was looking at instead. Machines were scattered all around, and none with a purpose she could immediately understand. Some were a little taller than her, some were a _lot_ taller than her. Every one of them was bright, or flashing, or blaring some kind of audio. It was… more than a little overwhelming.

“Oh yeah.” Amethyst bumped her elbow. “And if anyone calls me Amy, don’t freak out.”

“Why would--” But then there was a shrill shriek from the other side of the arcade. Spinel’s head jerked, and she saw a trio of what she could only assume were other humans. A tall, fair-skinned one with wild, off-white hair that curved up, a much shorter one with a red jacket, shades, and thin brown hair, and a dark-skinned one with curly, close black hair. The latter was the one who’d made the noise.

“Oooh, Sour Cream I cannot _believe_ you actually won something from that.” ‘That’ was some kind of machine with a mechanical claw and a bunch of bright stuffed toys on a bed of small rocks. In the claws grasp was a bright blue teddy bear, slowly working it sway to an empty slot at one of the corners.

“Man, don’t jinx it.” ‘Sour Cream’ said, his voice low and sort of nasally. As if on cue, the bear fell from the claws grasp as it arbitrarily decided to loosen its grip. The one with the shades stayed still, while the other two seemed devastated.

“Wack.” Came his soft voice.

Amethyst was already ambling over, so Spinel hurried closer, determined not to be left alone in a place like this.

“Don’t worry guys, I got this.” One of the purple gem’s hands pried the slot below open while her other arm stretched and snaked through, coming out inside the machine and grabbing onto the blue bear. After pulling it out, she presented it to the tallest one. “Ta-da!”

“Hey, thanks Ameth--” Sour Cream’s words were cut off by a sharp elbow from the loud girl.

“It’s _Amy_ while we’re in here, fool.” She crossed her arms. “Don’t get Steven in trouble.”

Spinel tilted her head. “So, why’s it Amy?” She managed, a little quiet. _And who are these people?_

Amethyst seemed to pick up on her quiet worry, so she quickly gestured to the three humans. “Oh, right, sorry. These are the ‘cool kids’, or at least, that’s what Steven calls them.” She snorted, teasing. “Tallest to shortest, that’s Sour Cream, Jenny, and Buck.”

“Sup.” Buck offered.

“Man, why you always gotta put it in quotation marks?” Sour Cream added quietly in the background, arms folded. Buck chuckled, then pressed on.

“You new here?” His voice was remarkably even. It had a sort of effervescent happiness to it, something truly ‘cool’, like a breeze on the wind. Jenny piled in.

“Heyy. Girl, that jacket looks _good_ on you. I love that scarf. You do your own hair?” Her hands were together, smile broad and satisfied, eyes curious and intense.

“Uhh…” Spinel managed, blushing again.

“She’s not from around here,” Amethyst answered. “If you catch my drift.”

“Cool.” Buck said simply.

“You’re not here to hurt the Earth, are you?” Sour Cream asked. “Cuz we kinda just got done with that a few days ago.”

“No way!” Spinel answered. “I couldn’t hurt a thing. Uh, probably.”

“Ha!” Jenny laughed. “I bet she’s just like Steven. All pink and soft and stuff. Ooh, but listen to all this. Here we are, goin’ on and on, and we didn’t even ask your name. Pfft, why didn’t one of you two ask her name?”

“Whaat? You could’ve--” Sour Cream started but Buck interrupted.

“Yeah, that’s our bad. What’s your name?”

“Uh…” Spinel started again. Amethyst had an expectant look. Did she want a real name, or a fake one? If it was to protect Steven somehow, it should be fake, right? What sounded sorta human? “Spring!” Spinel blurted. She winced, and Amethyst cackled.

“Hey, I kinda like it! I gotta use a fake name so the guy who runs this place won’t track anything back to Steven. Funland kinda sucks, but Steven likes it, sooo…” She shrugged. “Anyways, her real name’s--”

“A_hem_.” A new voice. Directly behind Amethyst was suddenly a large, bald man in a button-up shirt with an almost angry smile. Spinel hadn’t even heard him coming. “Well well well, look who it is. You know you’re not supposed to be here.”

The cool kids folded their arms. Spinel tensed.

Amethyst, with unblinking, straight faced _obliviousness_, turned to the man. “Like, what’re you talking about?” Her inflection raised, becoming sort of nasally and obnoxious.

“Don’t play dumb with me.” He pressed. “You gotta wake up pretty early to think a hoodie and a beanie are gonna be enough to put one over on _me_.”

Again, quietly, Sour Cream added, “I don’t think that’s how that phrase goes…”

Amethyst continued. “Like, I don’t know what your _problem_ is, but, you’re totally harshing my vibe. I’m here with my _sister_, and if you don’t buzz off, we’re gonna like, totally take our money elsewhere.”

The man’s gaze turned on Spinel and practically pierced right through. _Acting, acting, it’s all a game, don’t let her down, don’t_\-- “Yeah! Me and my sister--” Whatever that was, “-- heard this was a ‘cool’ arcade, so, uh, don’t be so _un_cool!”

“Yeah, sheesh Mr. Smiley.” Jenny added. “We were just showing these two around.”

At that, Mr. Smiley’s eyes narrowed. And after a brief pause, he began to walk backwards, never taking his eyes off the group. Still smiling. “I’ll be watching you…”

Spinel shivered. Amethyst groaned once he was out of sight, voice returning to normal. “Ugh, it’s like that guy _never sleeps_.”

“He’s definitely not human.” Sour Cream agreed.

“Wait, really?” Spinel asked, tilting her head.

“No, they’re just messing around.” Buck said, smile easy.

“... Oh.” She didn’t really get it, but after a bit of not getting it, her smile snapped back.

Amethyst blew a few strands from her face. “Come on, let’s actually play some games.”

* * *

As it would turn out, there were a few more steps before they could ‘play some games’. First, Amethyst had to agree to help Sour Cream with something called a ‘rave’ later to ‘bum some money’, but then Jenny reminded Amethyst that she still owed _her_ a favor for some money too. Buck offered five ‘dollars’, but Amethyst insisted that wouldn’t be good enough to show Spinel all the cool stuff. She tried to convince her a few times that it probably wasn’t worth all the trouble, but the purple gem refused, confident that she’d find _something_ for her to enjoy here.

Spinel wasn’t so sure, since the noise was no less loud and while there was comfort in a crowd, having so many people around her all the time was making her strangely weary. Fortunately, the cool kids dispersed as soon as Amethyst got her money.

“Finally, that’s done.” Amethyst declared, twenty of the small crumpled paper strips in her hand. “Sorry this is taking so long, I--” The machine spit the first bill back out. Apparently, coins were supposed to come out instead. “This… is so… Stupid! I’m doing my best here, and this _stupid thing_…”

Suddenly, something that should’ve clicked a long time ago finally did.

“You’re… really doing all this for me?” Spinel asked, almost shocked.

“Duh.” Amethyst answered. “You’re new here, and the Earth’s got… it’s got a lot more to offer than the beach. Or some rocks. Or whatever.” She scoffed, face hidden by her hair as she leaned forward. “I dunno, I just… saw the way you looked when the wave came down and I… it reminded me…” There was a pause. “I just had to do something, you know? It sucked.”

Spinel felt her chest seize. The words came out a bit breathless. “Well, gee golly…”

“Yeah, don’t mention it.” Amethyst said, and it sounded like she meant it.

There was obviously more to the small gem than she understood, but that was fine for now. For now, she’d have to focus on returning the favor, and really trying to like this place. Finally, the machine started accepting the green paper, and a bunch of coins plopped down. “Haha, take _that_ Funland! Can’t keep a good gem down!” She flinched, and looked around for Mr. Smiley, who was thankfully nowhere in sight. “Alright, come on.”

Amethyst lead Spinel along, dragged Sour Cream over by the back of his hoodie (“Hey, what the--”), and brought them to a set of machines with long, gently sloped lanes that carried up into a big set of wooden rings with numbers on them.

“Kay, so, the way this all works is, you do really good at whatever game you’re playing, and get a bunch of tickets, and turn those in for prizes. This game’s called Skee-Ball.” She slotted in a coin on two machines side-by-side, and a bunch of not-quite wooden balls rolled down a gap on the side of each. “Sour Cream, you’re on lookout duty. I’m gonna teach Spring here the _real_ way to win.”

Sour Cream, now recovered, stood resolute not too far away. “Aye aye ma’am.”

Amethyst nodded, satisfied, and without even looking, grabbed one of the balls and extended her arm across the whole lane, dunking it into the center ring. The machine made a satisfying jingle, and her arm returned. She looked pleased, but Spinel was reading the rules.

“Uh, Ame-- _Amy_, it says you can’t do that.” She put a finger to her chin. “No climbing, over-hand throws, or… _limb stretching_. Can humans do that too?”

Amethyst seemed shocked. “Ugh, _what_? Are you like Pearl? No, dude, playing by the rules is _not_ fun. When’s the last time you played a game where following the rules made it better?”

She froze a little, thoughts of the longest game still fresh. Tried to cast back, past that point. Most of the games then were so simple that there hadn’t even been a need for rules. So, maybe putting a ball in a hole should be the same? But, still, it felt wrong. Something deep inside her didn’t like the idea. Buut… “I guess, one little ball won’t hurt.”

Spinel grabbed one and stretched her arm, just as Amethyst had done, and gently pushed it into the center hole. The machine made a pleasant jingle, the score went up, and the world didn’t end.

She was winning a game again.

“Heck yeah!” Amethyst cheered, and put another ball in. Spinel giggled, then started racing her. Soon the two of them were using both their arms, stretched halfway to close the distance faster. The machine made an elaborate jingle as both of them rolled a ‘perfect’ game, and they were both laughing pretty hard.

Suddenly, Sour Cream spoke up. “Oh man, sure is windy out there, huh?” The cue was so out of place and obvious that even Spinel understood the intent.

Mr. Smiley trundled up, smile just the same, and made a thoughtful hum. “Two perfect games, huh?” There was a device for dispensing coins at his side, and he thumbed one over to the machine in front of Spinel. “Here, have another one. It’s on the house.”

The intent was clear. Prove the feat, or else.

“Uh, thanks,” ‘Amy’ said quickly. “But, actually, we don’t wanna play this one any more.”

‘Spring’ hefted one of the balls, spinning it on one finger. “No, it’s fine.” She felt the weight, calculated the distance. “I’m _real_ good at games.” Amethyst’s eyes were uncertain, but she gave a confident nod all the same. ‘Spring’ took a step back, wound up the pitch, and let loose. The ball sunk perfectly into the middle. Then the next one. And the next one. Amethyst’s jaw dropped, and Mr. Smiley was sweating. The final ball was the one to bounce off the center ring, and swished into the bottom hole. “Ugh, I’m so rusty.” She looked to Amethyst. “Hey, Amy, remember when we were the _best_ at this game?”

Spinel smiled easy, and Amethyst’s open mouth slowly turned to a wide grin. “Well, duh, it wasn’t _that_ long ago. But, you know, it’s a shame…” She turned to Mr. Smiley. “I guess we’re not gonna be able to enjoy the place with _this guy_ breathing down our necks…”

“Uh.” Mr. Smiley’s voice pitched up. “Hey, no need for that! Spend all the time you want. In fact, here, have a few more games on the house.” He dispensed a handful of coins and handed them over. “We’ve just got some real trouble-makers out here, you know? Gotta be careful, hahaha.” And again, the man strolled backwards, eyes on them. Only this time, he was laughing forcibly. “Enjoy those games!” He shouted, before disappearing around a corner.

Amethyst waited a few seconds, then turned to Spinel.

“Woah, that was _awesome_, Spring.” She raised a hand, palm out. “Oh, this is a--” But Spinel already understood, and clapped her hand to theirs. That put stars in the purple gem’s eyes. “Only on Earth for half a day and you’re already lying, cheating, and stealing. Pearl’s gonna be _pissed_.” Amethyst cackled madly. Spinel didn’t know what that last word meant, and wasn’t so sure what stealing was, but it didn’t really matter. She was having fun, despite everything. “What do you wanna do next?”

“Uh, is there a dancing game?”

* * *

As it would turn out, yes.

Sour Cream and the other teens were cooperating on some kind of ‘zombie shooter’ now, while Amethyst showed her a game with two sets of four directional pads called ‘Stance Stance Evolution’.

“Don’t stress too hard if you don’t get it right away. It’s not like, _real_ dancing, you just match your feet to the arrows on the screen. It kinda moves to the beat of the song, so if you’ve got some rhythm it’s not too bad.” She displayed by playing a grungy song with a lot of bass, obviously not too worried about her performance. There were a lot of ‘boos’ as she closed her eyes, dancing freely, flipping her hair and moving her hips to the beat. It was almost captivating, the way the light hit behind her. It was like nothing she’d ever seen on Homeworld, but looked fun all the same.

The song ended prematurely, and Amethyst gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “You can’t really cheat at this one, so, you know, just have fun with it.” She fumbled with the pad for a bit and inserted a bunch of coins. “Here, play the story mode for a while. It starts off real easy, so we can figure out what kinda songs you can play.”

Spinel stepped up on the pad and gulped, suddenly nervous. “So, is this the sorta game you can lose real easy?”

“Pfft. No? I dunno, ‘sup to you.” Amethyst thought a moment, then leaned against the bar opposite Spinel. “Stuff just kinda… doesn’t work that way here, I guess. You decide how good you’ve gotta be to win.”

“... I decide.” Spinel thought about that for a moment, but didn’t have long to before a scene was playing out on the big screen in front of her. A princess was kidnapped from the castle, and the king needed _her_ to rescue the damsel from a terrifying beast called a ‘dragon’. She was a knight, whatever that meant, and her first challenge on the journey was a bandit in the roads.

It started simple, one arrow at a time, with a lot of space in between notes. Then two at a time. The beat was slow, and it matched the images of a fight in the background. She beat it. Then the next one, a haunting ghoul in a graveyard. A funky song with held steps. The knight had to hide behind pillars to get through. Then the next. A warlord laying siege to a town. The notes got closer together. Steps ‘drilled’ together. A wizard that made the notes invisible before they reached the top. Quad steps, Spins. ‘Gallops’. Distantly, she was aware of Amethyst’s cheering, but her mind was so solely focused on the game.

On the knight’s journey to save the princess he loved.

It was the final challenge. There was nothing in the world but her steps, this game, and the dragon-fire she had to avoid. It was the fastest her legs had ever moved, and she barely managed to scrape through. The knight swung their ancient, glowing sword, and banished the dragon to another _dimension_. The princess was in his arms, no worse for wear, and together they rode off into the sunset. She took a deep breath, swallowed, and turned to see and hear the amazed cheering of Amethyst and the cool kids.

It was the first performance she’d put on in millennia, and it wasn’t even on purpose. She soaked in the happy faces, the cheering, the praise, and swelled with pride, giving a stage-bow.

“Hey, you made it to the top of the leaderboard!” Amethyst shouted. “Put in your name, you got third place!”

Spinel thought on that for a while. There was only space for three characters, so she settled for ‘K N T’.

“K-N-T?” Amethyst asked.

“Yeah!” Spinel mocked unsheathing a sword and raised it high, just as the knight had done before facing the dragon. “I’m the knight of your Boardwalk Empire!”

Amethyst chuckled weakly, a blush across her face. Jenny elbowed her. The purple gem gave a dismissive wave and elbowed back. Spinel tilted her head, not understanding the interaction.

“Did I say something wrong?”

“No!” Amethyst said quickly. “I’m… glad to have a knight.” She saluted back, just as the king had done before the hero departed. The cool kids cheered again, and after a brief pause, Amethyst pulled her aside. “Hey, you wanna go make those sand-castles again?”

Spinel gasped. “Would I?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figure when you're made for games, you pick up on 'em quick. Spinel's more than just games, though, obviously, and we'll be seeing more of her in other contexts soon.
> 
> I swear this is the fastest I've ever written... A big thank you to Catflower Queen for suggesting Dance Dance Revolution. It slotted neatly into the arcade scene here I had planned. <3
> 
> Tangentially related, you know it's a real long time between seeing the arcade and funland proper in the show? Like, you kinda see the inside of it a bit for some scenes, but "Arcade Mania" and "Watermelon Steven" are sorta it until "Too Short to Ride" and technically "Zoltron". Just something I thought was neat.
> 
> Anyways, next up, Spinel meets Connie and learns a bit more about humans, sponge animals, and love.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Character flaws, huh?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uploading this in two separate chunks. More notes at the end of next chapter.

The star that came over the horizon looked just as beautiful as the one that set before. For a short while mist rolled off the coast, creating lukewarm reddish-pink light. It felt almost magical, before the heat of the rising star evaporated the fog and solidified the networked sand-castles she and Amethyst had made throughout the night.

Apparently that star was called ‘the sun’, but for some reason Spinel found it more comforting to think of the sun as just another star. The castles, their courtyards, and all the elaborate little towers were filled with ‘guy’s and ‘gals’ that Amethyst turned their tickets in for before leaving the arcade. Allegedly she was mispronouncing the cute little figurines’ names, but no matter how hard Spinel tried listening to the purple gem, ‘guys’ and ‘gals’ still sounded like guys and gals. It didn’t really matter, she said, so they moved on.

Somewhere soon after, the purple gem groaned and realized she had ‘actually important’ things to do. The wording hurt a little, but elaboration came that there were at least three rogue Homeworld gems somewhere on Earth right now, and they had no clue what any of them would do if left alone. It was up to them to protect life on Earth, so she had to report in with Pearl and Garnet and probably go off on ‘a search mission or something’.

Spinel told herself she didn’t mind.

Amethyst waved goodbye (_“Later Spring!”_), a nickname, apparently, and walked into the ‘house’.

And she was alone.

But… it wasn’t as bad as before, at least. There were birds this time. It wouldn’t be like in the Garden, where she stayed still, watching, as the stars rotated and the green faded and life itself withered and the butterflies, her only constant moving companions, all fell down, slowly, until she watched their wings wither and snap too and--

Spinel forced herself to laugh. It came out wheezy and forced, but it was a laugh.

“Where did _that_ come from?” She asked the air, herself, but the words didn’t even reach her own ears. The house was inviting, but she didn’t want to wake up Steven if sleep was so important for stress. If there really was so much going on right now, like Amethyst had said, and she was only adding to it, the least Spinel could do was let him ‘sleep in’.

“I just… gotta do something!”

How long had it been since she’d juggled?

How long had it been since just juggling was enough to keep Pink entertained?

She shook her head, and summoned from her gem just three translucent pink balls. They still had a good heft to them, no worse for wear over all the years. It was sort of a marvel, if she was being honest.

One went into the air, but her eyes were on the ocean.

It was a wonder who Pearl belonged to. Before, she thought Steven had to be the leader of the group, but if Amethyst was only meeting with Garnet and Pearl, that didn’t seem right.

The second soared high, giving her time to catch the first.

Why was she staring like that? Did Pearl really recognize her? It wasn’t impossible. Amethyst was apparently the only one (aside from Steven) that was actually _from_ Earth. But, if she did, from what? A Spinel was a rare sight, but pearls were always so focused on whether or not their charge was entertained and safe that it shouldn’t have even stood out.

The third went up while she caught the second. And the cycle began.

It must have been a very good performance then. Or perhaps a bad one? There was that one time with the Hessonite and her Nephrites, but then, that wasn’t really her fault anyways. And… that pearl had been orange, wasn’t she?

The tide came in. And went out. Soon she was deep in the comforting familiarity of a past-time long gone. Her thoughts continued, but were distant now. Slowly, she complicated the exercise. Threw one or two balls higher at a time, finding something creative to do with the third like rolling it around her shoulders, or tossed the third too far to catch without stretching.

It was fun. A smile returned to her face without even noticing. And then, there was a new voice.

“Uh…”

Standing not too far, mouth agape, was a small brown girl with long, puffy dark hair, and some of the prettiest eyes Spinel had ever seen. From her white-and-blue shirt hung a pair of glasses that, as best as she could tell, had no lenses, pants like steven wore, only darker, and a pair of lightly scuffed white shoes like she’d seen at the ‘clothes’ place Amethyst brought her to.

“Hi!” Spinel said cheerily. “What’s your name?”

“I think… I’m supposed to be asking you that.” The small girl said.

“Oh, okay.” Spinel tossed the balls high, giving her plenty of time to do so. But there weren’t any words. So instead she pointed a finger up, balancing the first as it came, and moved the ball under the others, stacking all three up with careful precision. When still no words came, she leaned forward, one arm stretching over the other to stage-whisper. “Psst. Your line is, ‘what’s your name?’.”

“Oh.” The girl, confused, composed herself. “What _is_ your name?”

“Spinel!” She answered excitedly. “Okay, now yours.”

“... Connie.” The girl pulled a small, rectangular device from her pocket, held it up, and then asked. “So, do you know the Crystal Gems?”

“The Crystal Whats-Its?”

“You know…” Her voice was careful. “The magical gem people that live in that house?”

“Magical?” Spinel started juggling the balls in one hand, other pressed to her chin. She supposed everything a gem did would seem magical to a human. “Uh, maybe? I know _some_ gems. Is Amethyst one of them?”

“How do you--” Connie’s words were interrupted by a clattering noise from the house. The screen door flew open and slammed shut as Steven stepped out, running over as fast as he could. Spinel just grinned, putting the balls away.

“Conniieeeeee…” He shouted the whole way over, huffing when he arrived. “I got your text, what weird gem?”

Connie, now less certain, pointed to Spinel. 

“Oh.” Steven closed his eyes and put a hand to his forehead. “_Ohhh…_”

“What’s the matter? Is it weird mind magic?” Connie immediately stepped away, closer to Steven, concerned and protective. Spinel would have found it cute if the girl wasn’t so, _so_ confused. “Is it something she’s doing? Do I need to go get the others? Can you--”

“I forgot to tell you about Spinel!” He cut her off, throwing his arms out. “I’m sorry, there’s just been so much happening, and I--”

“You forgot to tell me about another gem showing up?” Connie seemed incredulous, still holding onto the idea that it was ‘weird mind magic’, apparently.

“Yeah, it just kinda… happened. It was last night. I was gonna go to my mom’s garden, but then I ended up in someone called Pink Diamond’s garden, and I found her standing there.” His voice lowered, but Spinel could still hear. “She was standing there for six _thousand_ years. I think something must have happened to person she was waiting for.”

Spinel winced at how openly Steven was telling the story, but if it cleared things up, she supposed it didn’t matter. Connie, for all the effort, was still not convinced.

“I thought that wasn’t how the warp pads worked?” She pressed, throwing narrowed eyes in the direction of the ‘threat’. “You have to think about where you’re going to go there, right? How could you end up in a totally different place?”

Spinel spoke up. “Nah, it’s pretty easy to mess up with those things if you’re new to ‘em. I’ve heard some _nasty_ stories, sheesh.” She tugged at the collar of her form. When Pink could get away with it, she arranged meetings with high ranking officers of the Empire, just to speak with the lower class expeditionary forces. It had allowed Pink (and Spinel) to hear a lot about other planets and their own forms of organic life; and the hilarious stories of newly formed recruits mishandling equipment. Not all of them were so disastrous, but sometimes, _yikes_.

“I guess… if you say so.” Connie finally relented. But Spinel could tell the young girl hadn’t actually. Her eyes were dark with intelligence, small creases and barely lowered brows speaking volumes about the focus she held.

“I do!” Steven said. At that, the girl finally seemed to ease up. “Connie, this is Spinel. Spinel, this is Connie. She’s my best friend.”

“I’m sorry.” Connie offered quickly. “I guess I just made things weird. I don’t really know a lot about this gem stuff. Can you forgive me?”

If she was Steven’s best friend, Spinel wanted to make a good first impression, but if there was even a little doubt left in his protective friend’s mind, it would be impossible to make the _best_ first impression. Spinel’s knees bent as she dropped to eye level (which wasn’t terribly far). 

“Hows about this? I’ll get the smartest gem you know, and they can back me up.” A brief pause, as she considered. “And, for what it’s worth, I don’t know any kinda gem that’s got mind control powers. Except, maybe…” Something terrible flashed in her mind. A scarred, white figure, with an unending smile. Spinel frowned. “Well, not that works on organics anyways…”

The last statement seemed to intrigue them both, but Spinel only rubbed the back of her neck. Connie picked up on the discomfort, and answered the question. “I guess that’s Pearl. But, you don’t have to, I believe you.”

Spinel shook her head, a sincere smile returning. “Nah, if it helps. I don’t want to scare one of Steven’s pals.” 

A brief pause, and Connie nodded. Steven smiled too, and wrapped an arm around his friend. That put something warm in Spinel’s heart. She got up, and gave an easy wave as she wandered off.

In the distance, Steven shouted something about how cool the sand-castles were once he noticed them, and all the guys and gals, and that made Spinel feel fuzzy too. She’d have to share the story soon.

As Spinel climbed the stairs, she could smell something strange and powdery from inside. There was a small whirring noise as Pearl-- wearing a long, stained white cloth-- leaned over one of a few bowls of ingredients, mixing something together. The air inside the house felt a little different, in a way Spinel couldn’t quite pinpoint, but once the door snapped shut behind her, Pearl looked up, and obviously did her best not to grimace. The whirring stopped.

“Oh, Spinel. It’s… good to see you.”

There were a lot of _bizarre_ inflections in her voice, making the tone of the comment completely unreadable.

“Hey,” Spinel began simply. “Steven’s friend Connie is here, and I could use your help convincing the little human that I don’t have mind-control powers.”

Pearl sighed, looking like she was about ready to drop a two-ton weight. “The kids are occupied, right?”

“Should be.” Spinel’s smile waned, uneasy. “They really like the sand-castles me and Amethyst made last night. What’s up?”

“... Spinel, would you mind coming closer?”

She did so. Pearl gripped the counter-top, leaned over hard, and looked down.

“Whatever you might have against me, I’m only asking that you keep it away from the others.” Her voice was shaky. “I don’t know what made you decide not to say anything, but I’m glad you didn’t. I’d like to keep it that way.”

Unorganized thoughts ran rampant through Spinel’s head. Pearl not only recognized her, but expected _her_ to recognize them? What… happened? There had to be a reason, and with that tone of voice, it couldn’t possibly have been something as simple as a performance gone wrong. Was it best to ask directly? Or to pretend she already knew? Terrorizing someone for no reason was hardly in her nature, but would Pearl give a straight-forward answer if she admitted to not knowing?

The silence stretched, but the conflict on her face must have become apparent as Pearl’s stress only increased. “Please. It’s fine if you have something to settle with me, but let’s do it with discretion. Not for my sake, but for Steven’s.”

Spinel looked to her hands. Upturned, fingers out, trying desperately to remember this pearl. She looked like no one Spinel had ever seen. Not timid or meek, not flamboyant or naive. This pearl had a _weapon_. Had it taken being dragged into a war? But then, surely she hadn’t always been this way. All Spinel had done for six thousand years was run through memories, think about the signs, about Pink and her face and her laugh and-- And she just _couldn’t_ remember this pearl. She’d been so focused on reliving the past, and still--

“I’m sorry.” Pearl gasped. “I couldn’t--” A hand covered her mouth. “I thought--” Again. She was trying to say something. Struggling. Shaking. It looked like it hurt.

Spinel hated seeing that.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay.” Whatever it was, whatever it had been, if she couldn’t remember, how could it possibly be a problem? “Come on, it’s fine.”

Even so close, even gently brushing a thumb against the pearl’s cheeks to wipe a tear, she couldn’t remember. She forced every ounce of cheer into her body, other arm pressed against the tall white gem’s back.

“Look at me. Just focus on my smile, and you’ll feel better in no time!” They were the same words she’d given Pink when she cried. Spinel stretched her legs out, so when Pearl leaned forward, only crying harder, it would be easier to brace against her. “It’s okay…”

“How could it ever be?” Pearl choked out.

“Because…” Spinel had to convince herself she wouldn’t regret the words. “I forgive you.” She was made to make gems happy. To make _Pink_ happy, but… She hated seeing those tears. Hated hearing that hopelessness. For all Spinel knew, the sleight was entirely imaginary anyways. So she pushed her own needs down. Told herself the truth didn’t actually matter. That if it was helping someone, she never had to know.

Spinel felt Pearl’s sobbing begin to die down, and didn’t give herself the time to think about how hollow those words felt.

“Better?” Spinel asked, pulling away. One of Pearl’s hands lingered in hers, but came apart to wipe the last tear.

“Better.” She said simply, a small, thankful smile. The sight should have been inspiring, but it wasn’t. _She’s happier_, Spinel told herself a few times. And managed to keep smiling.

“Now, can you come help convince this kid I don’t have crazy mind-control powers?”


	3. Chapter 3

When they came out, Connie and Steven were posing side-by-side in front of the sand-castles with wide smiles. One of the taller girl’s hands were holding onto the rectangular device Spinel had seen earlier, and she seemed to be tapping it while the two held the pose.

“Wonder what that’s about.” Spinel said.

“Hello kids!” Pearl called, not answering the question. She took a leisurely stroll down the steps while Spinel leapt over the railing and landed on her feet with a soft squeak.

“Oh, Pearl!” Connie seemed surprised. “I wasn’t sure you’d be around. Steven was telling me that you guys have been doing a lot lately.”

“Well, I always have time for _your_ questions, Connie.” Pearl said with a hint of pride. “It was very good of you to think something might have been wrong, but in this case that was not correct. Spinel is no threat to us.”

To emphasize, Spinel gave a big, happy thumbs-up. “And I don’t really mind. It was kinda funny, actually.”

At that, Connie blushed, and yet another new voice sounded from further down the beach.

“Heh, you guys look happy.”

It was a younger looking man in a drab outfit with the emblem of a folded piece of white paper on his shoulders and satchel. His brown hair was swept to one side, flimsy looking shades covering his eyes.

“Jamie!” Steven shouted.

“What’s up, Steven, long time no see!” The young man’s stance was confident, relaxed, and there was a bit of a laugh in his voice. Steven rushed to greet him, and Connie followed, looking ever-so-slightly nervous. Frankly, Spinel had met enough people in the last cycle, so she was grateful when Pearl wandered over to the sand-castles instead. 

She actually _gasped_, looking at the center-most collection of towers.

“These are modeled after the Scepters of Law, aren’t they? Even with this crude material, I can see how well you’ve shaped the grand courts at the top.” Pearl reached a hand out, careful not to touch. Mostly, it was just a set of semi-spherical shapes that barely managed to stay up without crumbling off, but it was a pretty good approximation. “I never would have guessed you were interested in Gem Architecture. Or, is it the process of law that attracted you?”

Spinel chuckled and rubbed the back of her arm. “Uh, mostly I just liked the way those towers looked. I never even got to meet the Bismuths that made ‘em.”

“... Oh.” Pearl frowned, but recovered quickly. “Well, it speaks volumes for your memory. I would have had trouble recreating the cross-hatched pattern without an example like this in front of me.” Spinel knew that wasn’t true, but Pearl was obviously trying to pay a compliment.

“... Thanks.” She managed.

The chatter of the other three carried on in the background. Pearl was obviously still uncomfortable, and Spinel didn’t feel too differently.

“Well, why don’t you tell me about what happened between you and Amethyst?” Pearl put forward, more hopefully. “For her to be so involved in making something and not destroy it immediately afterwards is very unusual. It must have been quite the night.”

“Oh, it was.” Spinel regained some of her enthusiasm, and materialized from her gem the jacket and scarf Amethyst had given her. “We had to use disguises to get into the ‘arcade’, and played some games. We met some other humans while we were there. It was a blast!”

She expected Pearl to smile in turn, but instead the white gem gave an apologetic frown and reached out for a hanging bit of paper on the back of her jacket. “Spinel, did Amethyst ever pay--”

The words were overshadowed by a shout from Steven. “Hey Garnet!”

At first she had no idea where Garnet could be, but followed the others’ eyes to an emerging shape from the ocean. The fusion, soaking wet, didn’t break stride until assuming a casual stance next to the others.

“I’ll talk to Amethyst later.” Pearl said with a more serious expression, walking to the growing assembly.

“Whatcha up to, Garnet?” Steven asked.

“I was just at the bottom of the ocean, checking for signs of Lapis and Jasper.”

“Any luck?”

“Nnnope.”

Those must have been two of the gems Amethyst was talking about. She’d forgotten to get names, but frankly it would be a wonder _if_ a Lapis could be found underwater without wanting to be. Did Garnet really think she could take one on by herself even if she did find them? Maybe she just didn’t understand the point of the search. Garnet had to know better.

Jamie’s voice grew shallow, and sort of breathless. “Wow… how were you able to… swim to the bottom of the ocean?”

“It was _easy_…” Garnet answered confidently. “I’m a really good swimmer.”

A blush grew across the man’s face, and Pearl rolled her eyes. “Garnet, I want to corroborate your findings with an idea I had after searching the Left Key Islands.”

Garnet nodded, and the two walked off.

Conversation petered from there, and eventually Steven was done signing his name enough times to take the massive bag of mail, which he promptly upended and spilled onto the beach.

“So, what is all this stuff?” Spinel asked, sitting cross-legged, flipping a piece of paper over.

“Oh, it’s mail.” Steven answered. “Mail’s, uh…”

“It’s how some people communicate.” Connie picked up. “Sometimes people write each other messages and send them on paper. It takes more effort than speaking digitally, so some people really like to do it.” She hefted a box, expression turning to Steven in confusion. “But… You can also get packages too. Like, nine boxes of Sea Pals?”

“Well, at first I just ordered one,” Steven explained. “But they never came, so I just kept ordering more.”

Spinel picked up one of the boxes and turned it over to the image of some sort of demented looking human-fish hybrids, with tails and gills. “What’s a ‘Sea Pal’? Are they gonna help you find that Lapis gem?”

“I wish.” Steven said with sincerity. “But no, Sea Pals just kinda float. They get real big when you soak ‘em in water for a long time.”

“They’re not sentient.” Connie clarified. “But, that _does_ give me an idea.” She smiled, excited. “Steven, why don’t you write some messages in a bottle? Maybe they’ll float out to wherever Lapis is! It’ll be just like in Unfamiliar Familiar, when Lisa made that connection with the unsuspecting fisherman.”

Spinel had her doubts, but Steven’s eyes filled with stars, so she could only grin.

_Eh, why not? Everything’s got at least a little chance of working..._

“That’s a great idea, Connie! We’ve gotta go get some bottles right now!” Steven got up, as did the rest, when Jamie returned again. “Jamie!”

“H-Hi Steven…” Again, he was sorta breathless. Steven prodded about the frilly pink letter in Jamie’s hands, to which he stammeringly and suddenly answered “Here!” before running off, giggling and grinning. Steven flipped it over, confused, and both of the humans gasped upon seeing Garnet’s name surrounded by a heart.

“Is that… a courtship thing?” Spinel asked, confused.

“I think it’s a love letter…” Connie managed.

"We’ve gotta get this to Garnet right away!” Steven declared, and Spinel grinned.

“Right away, huh?” She sprang off, landing directly at the base of the stairs. One of her hands expanded and smoothed, becoming a platform for the two kids, while the other wrapped around the railing at the top. “Express elevator, comin up!”

Both kids stepped on with a giggle, holding onto one another, and Spinel sprang again, using the arm at the top as an anchor to pivot forward off of, landing with grace and setting the other two down. Steven let out a cheer, and Connie barely managed to regain composure before Garnet stepped out, already prepared to leave again.

“Garnet, you’ll never believe it!” Steven said quickly.

“I’m busy, Steven.” She said simply, clapping her gems together to create a goggled visor around her shades.

“Isn’t that sorta--” Spinel began, but Steven interrupted.

“But you got a letter!”

Garnet paused. “... Read it.”

“‘To Garnet,’” Steven began, before launching into an elaborate series of metaphors Spinel didn’t understand about steel, and hearts, and maybe something about a flower toward the end? Whatever the middle was, she understood the ending. “‘- Love, Jamie.’”

“I think Jamie is asking you out… On a date!” Connie exclaimed.

“Well, yeah, there was a time at the end, wasn’t there?” Spinel put a hand to her chin.

“There was. And I won’t be meeting him then.” Garnet answered. Connie tilted her head.

“Well, why not?”

“Garnet’s already _in_ a relationship.” Steven gestured to the fusion.

“Wait, really!?” Connie gasped.

“Well, yeah. She _is_ a relationship.” Steven smiled. Connie blushed, embarrassed (“Oh right, because she’s a fusion...)". 

Spinel scratched the top of her head. “Is that why you’re always fused?”

Steven accidentally crumpled the letter in his hands, eager to answer. “Ruby and Sapphire are so close, they can’t stand to be apart…”

Her confusion only deepened. “A Ruby and a Sapphire?”

“A story for another time.” Garnet nodded. Steven and Connie looked deeply curious, but she wasn’t going to ask any further in front of them. 

It had always been obvious that Garnet was a fusion between two gems she couldn’t tell what were, but the idea of a non-homogenous fusion didn’t really bother her. According to the Diamond’s decree, it was forbidden, and punishable by shattering, but if Pink had any thoughts on the rule, she’d never made them known. It led Spinel to not care about it either, through the sheer indifference she grew to hold the other Diamonds’ rules to. What _had_ bothered her was the seemingly permanent nature of Garnet’s fusion. It was concerning, to think of two completely different minds melded together for so long like that. It was a wonder if they ever forgot who they were before.

But, apparently, love was enough to hold them together. The thought made Spinel more than a little jealous. 

“Three’s a crowd.” Garnet’s simple comment brought her back to the world.

“But guys,” Connie began. “Jamie put so much thought into this letter. It would be rude not to reply.”

Spinel looked to Garnet, serious. “Just give him an answer. Any kind.”

The fusion hummed, then agreed. Connie scrambled for a blank piece of paper, which Steven provided from a strange-looking backpack, and smoothed it out on the table next to an L-shaped sofa. ‘Pencil’ in hand, she addressed Garnet.

“It might be best to play off the tone of _his_ letter, and start off with something like,” She began to write. “‘Dearest Jamie,’ Okay, go for it Garnet.”

“Start with the letter ‘N’.”

“Ha, okay. What next?”

“Uh, the letter ‘O’.” Spinel could see where this was going.

“Uh, okay.” Connie quipped cheerfully. “You can just say the whole word instead of spelling it out.”

“Period.” Garnet finished.

“Great work.” Spinel said, completely sincere, and offered the fusion a high-five, which she took.

“So…” Connie looked blankly at the paper. “N-O, period? … _Ohhh_.”

“I think we’ll need more than that.” Steven pressed past the high-five.

“‘The end.’” Garnet said shortly. “‘Forever, and even after that.’”

“‘Yours truly, Garnet.’” Steven finished with a smile.

Spinel also offered Steven a high-five, which he took.

“Well, at least it’s honest and to the point.” Connie said. Spinel hummed in agreement. Garnet, eager to return to her search, departed, leaving her and the two kids to chase after Jamie and deliver the letter. The jog to Beach City was pleasant, sun hanging high in the sky, clouds fluffy and few. The search didn’t last long as Spinel extended her legs and pointed them over to the beach, where Jamie was sitting on a log embedded in the sand.

“Oh hey Connie and Steven. And…” He reached for her name.

“Spinel.” She answered, nonplussed.

“Spinel.” Jamie continued. “You guys come out here to stare at the ocean and think about life too?”

“Uhh… nooo?” Connie answered, both of the kids looking uncertain. Spinel wondered how common it was for people to stare at the ocean and think. If it had that effect on her, she could only imagine it happened to organic life a lot too. “We came to, uh--”

“Yeah, life is crazy.” Jamie continued, self-absorbed. “One day you’re right here in Beach City, delivering mail, and then the next thing you know, you’re on a bus to Kansas, following your dreams of becoming an actor.” He clenched a fist, wistful spirit in his voice. “Follow your dreams, they said. “But no one said anything,” He wiped a hand across his face, expression turning sour. “About all the rejection and sadness there was to be found.”

Spinel found herself absorbed by his tone, and the genuine sadness that seemed to weigh those words. Either the kids felt too awkward, or felt exactly the same way, as none of them said anything.

“So many auditions, day after day. So much _rejection_, day after day. That’s why I came back. One more rejection would have broken my fragile heart...” Above, two seagulls slammed into each other, falling from the sky, unable to recover before hitting the water. Tears burgeoned in his eyes, but he wiped them away smoothly, offering a smile afterwards. “Hah, sorry, sometimes I get caught up in the Drama Zone, you know?”

“Yeah, right…” Steven agreed uneasily. 

“The drama zone…” Spinel repeated absently.

“Oh, by the way,” Connie raised the folded response. “We have something for you--”

“No we don’t!” She and Steven said simultaneously, pushing the letter away.

Jamie gawked, but chose not to push, turning back to the ocean. Both of them awkwardly picked up Connie and carried her to the beach house, where the conversation resumed. All three were now leaned over the letter, thinking.

“How can we give him that letter _now_?” Steven asked. “He might get upset.”

“Oh, we’re giving him a letter.” Spinel answered. “Just not that one.”

“Oh, we’re going to edit it?” Connie’s brows shot up.

“Exactly!” Spinel praised. “It’s only a little lie. What matters is that he knows for sure Garnet isn’t interested in him. If we can do that, but be soft about it, then that’s better, right?” A complicated knot of emotions in Spinel’s chest smoothed into determination. If she’d been given the opportunity to hear something from Pink, she would have preferred it be kind. Lying had worked for her and Amethyst, and it had worked for Pearl too. There was clear value in little lies.

Steven gave an “Mhm”, and Connie set about erasing what was already on the letter.

“I think I know just how to do it.” Connie said with pride. “‘Dear Jamie’,” She began, matching the tone and confusing metaphors of Jamie’s own letter, Steven adding ‘Also, your hair is nice’. Again, Spinel had no idea what most of it meant, but it was at least consistent, and that was what mattered to her. Connie concluded with, “‘I return your heart to you -- Yours, but not really, Garnet.’”

The trio carried to the mailbox, put it in, and Spinel offered high-fives once more.

“Perfect!” She concluded.

* * *

When it became time for Connie to return, Spinel was fully prepared to figure out a way to get some more money to play the dancing game again and see if she could get a higher score, but Steven surprised her by asking for help with a game of his own. 

A ‘fighting game’ called ‘Lonely Blade’. It was completely out of her wheel-house, all about timing button presses and figuring out the right sequences for them, but he seemed to believe she could do it, so she was doing her best. At the very least, the story was pretty interesting. Earth was full of imaginative, talented people it seemed. She wondered if Pink had ever bothered to meet any of them, and how little they might have meant to her if she did.

Rain pattered outside, not acidic like she’d heard some places could be, thankfully, but over the sound of the storm came a voice. Jamie’s, calling out for Garnet.

“Oh no.” Spinel frowned. “Were we still too hard on him?”

Steven frowned too. “I dunno, let’s find out.”

“Garnet,” Came his voice, as Steven and Spinel both moved outside and into the rain. “I read thy letter and I under_stand_. Thou hast returneth mine heart!”

“What!?” Steven and Spinel said at once.

“That’s not what--” Steven was cut off by another declaration from Jamie.

“Garnet. You like my hair just as I _adore yours_. Come to me, Garnet.”

“Jamie!” Spinel said over the rain. “You read it all wrong!”

“I… What?” He stumbled.

“We wrote that letter, not Garnet!” She admitted. “It was so you wouldn’t feel hurt!” Steven’s hand pressed against her side in solidarity. From nowhere, Garnet appeared behind them. Jamie’s determination renewed, sparkling like the ocean. She could only imagine how similar she must have looked when Steven finally arrived to break her isolation, only to realize he wasn’t Pink. “Ugh, _no!_”

“Garnet!” He addressed her with all his vigor. “You’ve come. You can tell Spinel and Steven all about the beautiful things you wrote to me in your missive.” The letter was becoming stained, ruined by the water, but he didn’t seem to care.

Garnet, for her part, showed only mild concern. “I didn’t write that.”

“But, it’s all right here, stained with tears of joy, and now also rain.” His voice grew a little lower. Spinel made a worried cutting motion across her neck, but he continued. “Willst though not scorch me, my darling sun?”

Garnet then spoke not just through, but above the storm. “I am not, nor will I _ever_ be interested. Go. Away!”

Jamie clenched a fist against his chest, and ran away, crying. Spinel felt something awful creeping up, and prepared to vault off the porch to give chase, but spotted Steven’s upset, anxious expression first.

“Hey,” She offered, dropping to one knee and placing her hand on his shoulder. “Let’s go back inside. We’ll figure out a way to beat the Shadow President yet.”

Steven nodded, dejected, and Spinel spent the rest of the night trying (and failing) to beat that game for him. Until Steven had to sleep and Amethyst came by to offer another trip into town, which became a blur unto itself.

* * *

The next day, Spinel did her best to keep Steven (and a returning Connie) distracted from the prior day’s events, explaining minor details about Homeworld to the two that kept them fascinated. The plan didn’t work for long, however, as another ‘mail-person’ came in Jamie’s place (apparently that was supposed to happen daily, not that she could’ve known), and recited just how _destroyed_ Jamie was. The woman’s poses as she poked fun at the aspiring actor were too accurate for Spinel to convince them afterwards that maybe it was a _different_ Jamie, and she watched as their expressions crashed in guilt.

“You didn’t do anything wrong!” Spinel reassured.

“But we broke the man’s heart!” Steven returned.

“He’s at his lowest state yet!” Connie added.

“Ugh, _no_\--” Spinel centered herself, determined to be as sweet as possible. “You told him the truth. It’s not your fault he didn’t understand it.” Even she knew that wasn’t altogether right, but if she didn’t sound convincing, the kids would stay heartbroken.

“_He’ll never love again_.” Connie said dramatically, prompting Steven to pull her into a hug.

Spinel prepared to take a different approach when suddenly Garnet sailed out from the ocean, high into the air, battling some kind of monstrous aquatic figure with a gemstone at its head. She delivered a single punch to the being after slamming it against the sands, and then tossed it back into the ocean. With zero discernable emotion, she turned to the kids.

“You look sad.”

Spinel crumbled. “They’re convinced they’ve ruined Jamie’s life by telling the truth. Help me out here, tell them they didn’t do anything wrong.”

Garnet paused, adjusting her shades. “I’ll go talk to Jamie. You should come with me.”

The kids protested, but Spinel could only assume she had a plan, so they all followed anyways. 

When they arrived at the beach, Jamie was seated on the same log as the day before, setting mail free in the wind. Garnet announced herself, then sat beside him

“I didn’t mean to upset you.” Garnet said sincerely.

“Then, will you go out with me?” The hope in his voice was painful.

“No!” Not a shout. Not mean. Just firm. _Did Pink ever do that?_

“But, I’ve loved you since the moment I saw you.”

Garnet took a breath. “Love at first sight doesn’t exist. Love takes time, and love takes work. At the very least you have to _know_ the other person. And you literally have no idea who, or what, I am.”

His voice began to break. “But, I bloom for you like… like a camellia under moonlight.”

“No, you don’t.” Again, firmer. Spinel felt a pull at the core of her gem. “You make a very convincing lovesick fool. You convinced these children, and Spinel, and you even convinced yourself.” She smiled, sincere and warm. “You’re a _fantastic_ actor.”

At that, Jamie sobered. He clutched his knees closer to his chest, and stared ahead. “What do I do now…?”

“Start with local theater.” Garnet slapped the human’s back, knocking the air out of him, and left.

Silence. Spinel moved first, coming closer.

“Are you okay?” She asked.

“Yeah.” Jamie’s eyes were still a bit distant, but it was obvious that he felt at least a little better.

“Did you… need those?” Spinel gestured to the letters floating on the water.

He sighed. “I guess I still do.”

“We’ll help you pick them up.” Connie said quietly. Spinel’s hands were already stretching out over the water, pulling them away by the center so nothing ripped. Jamie gaped at the sight.

“Wh-what the…”

She dropped the pile back in Jamie’s lap and rubbed the back of her neck, arm bent in an unnatural way. A few thoughts ran by, of how she could make it right. It took her a moment to decide, but she sat down on the log next to him.

“So… Why don’t you tell me about acting? What’s it like for you?”

For at least a couple hours, she could be someone who listened. Someone who cared. If Pink had only said something, it would have changed everything. But it would have been even better if she’d cared enough to stay close, and ask questions too.

Jamie’s eyes lit up. The letters needed time to dry anyways. Connie and Steven sat close together in the sand, looking on with interest and fascination, as Jamie described the electrifying feeling of embodying a character so completely. The passion and bonds he felt with the fiction he read. Spinel talked about acting where she came from, about how as far as she knew, it was all just exaggerated portrayals of real events. Connie talked about how some periods of human history had been like that, about a ‘renaissance’ and a man named ‘Shakespeare’, who Jamie apparently idolized. Steven was enjoying every second of it, smiling and laughing and joking when the time arose.

At the end of it, Jamie confessed to not being so sure he could go through with it. That after getting rejected so many times, he wasn’t sure he had the spirit. But she would _not_ let such a passionate spirit be crushed again.

The sun was beginning to sink, shades of pink and orange highlighting the sky, when Spinel stood up, expression serious, and jabbed a thumb her way.

“I’ll go with you!” She promised.

“Oh… Really?” He stood as well, but looked away. “That’s not… You’re not just acting now?”

“I’m serious!” She grabbed and pulled one of his hands her way, prompting him to look back. “I wanna know what human acting is like. You’re all so creative, and… it sounds like fun. Just the first meeting, at least. If it doesn’t work out, I won’t bother you again. Promise.”

“That sounds like a great idea!” Steven added. “Spinel’s really talented, Jamie, she’d be a great partner for practice.”

Connie stared absently at Spinel. “You’re really different, huh…”

“Okay…” Jamie nodded. “Okay, let’s go now! I know someone who meets with a lot of out of town tourists. He might have a lead we can follow.”

“What about the letters?” Connie asked.

“Let’s go… After I deliver these letters!”

Jamie lead the way, fire in his eyes, while Spinel waved good-bye to Steven and Connie, who both wished them luck. On the walk and all the time that they talked about the possibilities, Spinel thought about truth, and love, and lies. About the ones she’d been told and the ones she’d told. It was a lot to think about, but she’d have answers in time. For now, she summoned and threw on her jacket and scarf, and prepared to meet a mysterious individual with yet another new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spinel's gonna start needing a day planner sooner or later...
> 
> There's a lot of really interesting stuff Steven Universe does with its townies that add up to life lessons for Steven, but I feel could've done more for the gems themselves, as well. I want to do some of that with this fic, and especially for Spinel, who's by now obviously something of a social butterfly. Or moth, if you interpret her deep-seated need for company as a fixation. Sorry this didn't end up being quite as Connie and Spinel focused as I expected it to, but next 'episode' should more than make up for that.
> 
> Next up is "Sworn to the Sword", in which Spinel learns a little more about the war, Pearl, and humans.
> 
> I'm also considering a minor 'bonus' chapter that grabs a few snapshots that aren't worth their own chapter or don't have quite as central a focus or level of importance. Stuff like Connie and Steven's conversation after Spinel left, which I felt was interesting, but not worth extending the chapter further for, and the mystery man meeting (points if you can guess who). I'll definitely take suggestion on those, as there are a few days between here and Sworn to the Sword, as well as I'm sure there are a lot of minor interactions you guys might want to see.
> 
> As ever, thank you for reading! Love hearing feedback from you all. <3


End file.
